Summer To-Do's

Summer always seems to come and go in the blink of an eye.  In April, I start getting the summer itch and start having all of these big ideas...thinking it is going to be THE BEST SUMMER EVER!  And summer rarely ever disappoints, but I always feel like I only get half of what I want accomplished.  I am writing out a checklist of fun summer activities that I hope to get crossed off for this year!  I am such a list-maker and love crossing things off.  Here are a few things on my summer bucket list:

1) Picnic on the Beach

Aside from the three hours it takes to pack up all of our stuff and actually get to the beach...a picnic just adds a little something extra to the whole experience. Extra work, extra things to carry, extra whiny children because you didn't pack candy.  Needless to say, I love having picnics once in a while.   

2) Root Beer Floats on the Deck

We bought an ice cream maker last summer (Tate's idea).  Now, before I start in on my wifely duties and start bitching about how we have used it zero times so far, I will say that homemade ice cream in root beer floats screams Summer to me.  I can't wait to make some!

3) Dine Al-Fresco

There is nothing more relaxing than the smell of Citronella while you are eating with bugs flying everywhere.  Seriously nothing.  Name something more relaxing--I'll wait.  Aside from those two things, I actually do enjoy eating outside.  Plus it breaks up the daily routine.

4) Stand-Up Paddle Boarding

I am enrolling my sister to come with me for pure entertainment value.  She is an outdoorsy person in that she enjoys drinking Pino on patios--that's about it.  So taking her out on a lake should be fun.  Honestly though, this would be a great activity to bond with your spouse, parent, or bestie!  

5) Family Fishing Adventure

We have taken the girls fishing a couple of times and they love it.  My dad always took us when we were younger and it is one of my fondest childhood memories.  He would always take a 6-er of Milwaukee's Best and tell us to quit talking.  Memories.  There is something so peaceful about waiting for the next big catch and I love seeing the excitement on the girls' faces when we do catch one. 

6) Attend an Outdoor Concert

Who doesn't love outdoor music?  I love local cover bands.  We actually got to watch a band perform last night and Libby loved shaking her groove thang.  Daphne likes to run away so I don't actually get to enjoy listening to the music.  :)

7) Tour a Brewery or Winery

I have never toured a brewery and would love to do that for a date night!  I enjoy trying new things and there are some really good new breweries in our area.  

8) Bake a Fresh Peach Pie

I love all of the fruit that comes in season during the summer.  White peaches are my fave.  I love eating them by themselves or with some yogurt.  But pie is my favorite dessert and something about a peach pie has me drooling right now--probably the carbs and sugar.

Hopefully we get a few of those checked off the list, especially #8.  I'm sorry if my negativity about the first three options talked you out of doing those.  I haven't had enough coffee this morning to be positive yet. :)

It was so funny watching the girls play in this little pool.  They both barely fit!  It made me a little sad because they both fit in it fine last year.  Tate went to our local store to pick up a bigger pool for the girls.  He was dressed in his EMS uniform and inquired about the price of one outside.  The clerk went out to look with him and when he came back into pay, a lady had already paid for it and said it was a thank you for serving the community.  That really warmed my heart!

Libby is at the tender age of 3, almost 4.  Anyone who has or knows a child this age knows they will not shut up love to talk. Tate and I are horrible parents and lay with our children until they fall asleep.  *NEW PARENTS: DO NOT GET IN THIS HABIT. I REPEAT, DO NOT GET IN THIS HABIT.*  But I also enjoy this time because we get to talk about their day and spend one more hour together.  Once in a while, Libby will sweetly whisper "Can you sing to me mama?"  The other night, she had this request.  I had a flashback to my childhood of my mother singing "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof.  I was always exposed to a variety of music growing up, and I want to make sure I do this to my children as well.  I didn't want to be #basic and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle."  So, I started singing "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.  I got the words Someone told me long ago....in before Libby interrupted and said, "Can you just sing Shake It Off?"  *So much for that whole exposing them to the classics garb*.

Daphne is just the opposite at bedtime.  If I start singing to her, she yells "STOP! STOP IT MAMA!"  Then she slaps me across the face.  I honestly don't know where I went wrong with that one. :)    But I've got to admit, I love her fire and sass...reminds me of someone I know. ;)

We are loving summer so far.  Our local pool in town is pretty awesome, but if we don't feel like doing the whole get ready for 40 minutes and stay at the pool for 20 minutes thing, our little pool in the back yard is a great substitute!  Plus, it gives me a chance to catch up on yard work and my flower beds. Don't even call me an old lady.  Don't even!!  Hope you all are getting in plenty of pool time!  I feel like I need a token slogan to end all of my blog posts with.  Bob Barker had the whole spayed or neutered thing and Ice Cube has Bye, Felicia.  Mr. Rogers always said something weird in a calming voice.  I have nothing.

Also, Daphne's double-chin,chocolate-covered face and top-knot FOREVER!  Happy Sunday, everyone!

Front Porch Livin'

One of my favorite spaces in our new house is the front porch.  The house I grew up in had a front porch and I remember always going out there to watch thunderstorms when I was little (until I got scared--still holds true currently).  When we went to look at our new house for the first time, the porch was one of my favorite features.  Tate and I both knew immediately that we wanted a porch swing.  I liked the looks of the larger swings and Tate found a tutorial here.  He and his dad built our swing a few Sundays ago and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. The padded part is a crib mattress!  Tate also tied the knots to hang the swing, so I started referring to him as the World's Best Boy Scout.  That went over well.

After Tate got the frame part of the swing built, we took a family trip to the fabric store to pick out material for the mattress and for throw pillows.  My favorite thing about the fabric store was that our kids invented this super fun activity where they would pull all of the fabric down from the wall and then run away.  I could see the "Hurry the F up" look in my husband's eyes, but I CAN'T MAKE IMPORTANT FABRIC DECISIONS ON THE FLY.  He was losing his patience, my palms were sweating, and the lady cutting fabric was burning a hole through my soul as she glared at my children tearing the fabric down from the walls.  I know lady, I hated them too.  I ended up picking a green/gray/white floral which I ended up loving, even though it was bought on a whim.  My mom helped me wrap the crib mattress in the gray fabric.  I still haven't made the throw pillows with the floral fabric I bought.  My not-so-subtle hint of leaving the fabric at my mom's so she would sew pillows for me hasn't worked yet.  I'm still holding out hope though.  The homemade throw pillow project is slotted to be finished July 2021.  I love having shit lay around forever.

I wanted some greenery on the porch to tie in the green fabric of our chairs.  I saw these DIY copper planters and fell in love.  The copper pieces are trash cans found on Amazon!  Once again, I asked Tate if he could take on another project and he made them for me. I love how they turned out!  Also side note, Tate has never built anything in our 11 years together.  I'm not sure if he loves it or hates it.  We will go with loves it.  I got all of our plants at Lowe's.  They had a really good selection!  If you don't have the greenest thumb, I highly recommend succulents (pictured in white pot below).  They are very low maintenance and are easy to keep alive. Plus, when summer is over, they make great indoor plants.

So far, the porch has been one of our favorite spaces to hang out this summer.  We like to go out there and eat ice cream or popsicles while we watch the cars drive by (we lead thrilling lives BTW).  Sometimes, while the girls are watching their morning cartoons, Tate and I will go sit out there and sip on our his and hers Mt. Dew and coffee.

It has been steamy here for most of June.  We are supposed to be getting some mild weather here in the Midwest towards the end of the week, so we are looking forward to that.  Maybe we will even get to enjoy a few thunderstorms on the porch. :) Have a great rest of your week, friends!  

Shrimp on the Barbie

Shrimp on the Barbie.  I feel like no one in Australia actually says that.  But you bet your ass I do every time I grill shrimp.  During the week, I like to do easy suppers and take shortcuts whenever I can.  Grilling in the summertime is one way to get in a quick, healthy dish.  This simple supper (say that 5 times fast) only requires 6 ingredients and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish.  I found a variety pack of BBQ sauce at Target and since I am an impulse buyer, it was in my cart within 4 seconds.  I also used the peeled/de-veined shrimp and the frozen pineapple chunks as a shortcut.  And for the record, the word de-veined makes me want to vom and I can't even think about it when I eat shrimp.  Some people also suggest soaking the wooden skewers before grilling, but I didn't because Danger is my middle name.

If you've never cooked shrimp before, then you really need to reconsider who you are as a person should know that it only takes a couple of minutes to cook per side.  Nothing says summer to me more than charred veggies straight off the grill that no one in my family will eat besides me.  Honestly, there is nothing more fulfilling as a mom than to hear your toddler bawl the entire meal saying, "I just don't like dis shrimps."  HEARTWARMING. 

 

Happy grilling, friends!  Let me know what you're cooking up this week!

Our Weekend + Summer Favorites

Another quiet Sunday morning over here just listening to the birds chirp and my kids scream and bicker over who gets the expletive Jasmine doll.  Tate and I got to enjoy approximately two peaceful minutes on the front porch this morning.  Sundays are always so bittersweet.  They bring a sense of comfort, yet we always know the Monday hustle is imminent.

This weekend was a typical summer weekend for us.  Friday night we went and watched our nephew play baseball.  The girls always get a Ring Pop sucker at the ball game, so they are always down for baseball.  Plus they love hanging out with their ornery cousin. Saturday, we met my sister's family and my brother's family at the local aquatic center.  It was about 95 degrees here.  The water felt great, but we were exhausted.  The girls and I took a two hour nap when we got home.  I'm not sure who needed it more--me or the girls. :)

 

I worked in the garden pulling weeds and cut some fresh stems for our house.  Fresh flowers always make me happy.  I highly recommend keeping a bouquet in the house year-round! Instant mood booster.  My hydrangeas are getting ready to bloom and I can't wait.  I'm actually a little ashamed at how excited I am for it.  Also, I think sometimes I am a 75-year-old woman in a 30-year-old's body.  Is it normal to love gardening this much at my age?

Summertime always brings on old traditions and new ideas.  A couple of my Summer Favorites so far are Raspberry Malts + a new book called Hello Glow.  Raspberry malts are near and dear to my heart--we always had them growing up.  I suppose the correct technical name would be milkshakes since we do not add malt flavoring.  Technicalities schmechnicalities. Mom makes hers a little different than mine.  She would add approximately 17 cups of sugar per one cup of raspberries.  I think that's why I like hers more. :)    However you make them, they are sure to be a crowd-pleaser!  I'm telling you, something magical happens when you add sour raspberries to sweet vanilla ice cream.  Make your own ice cream if you want to be a true Martha.  Also, if you want to hear your husband b*tch, add fresh mint as a garnish so you can hear about how "sh!tty fresh mint tastes."  *Disclaimer: my husband swears A LOT.

Lately I have been into more natural beauty products.  I have been eyeing this book (Hello Glow) for a long time and finally bought it.  I love it and cannot wait to try all of the DIY beauty recipes in it.  The first one I tried was a gentle oatmeal-blueberry cleansing mask.  I went rogue and didn't follow the exact directions so I had blueberries dripping everywhere.  I kind of felt a little bit like Mrs. Doubtfire during the whipped cream scene.  I hope you all had the best weekend.  Enjoy!

Kathleen's Cherry Pie

One of my favorite desserts (especially in the summer) is my mom's cherry pie.  Cherry pie is such a labor of love.  Labor for mom, love for me. A couple of summers ago, I was enlisted to pick cherries with my sister-in-law.  It was the year of the locusts.  And boy did the locusts love hiding in the cherry trees waiting for sweet, innocent girls to come find them.  Those things felt like the size of an albatross as they were flying at our heads.  We.were.screaming.  And no one came to help us.  They just sat inside and laughed at us because that's how my family rolls.  The harvest is always worth the end product--the pie.

I can't make a post about Kathleen's Cherry Pie without posting the recipe.  Mom likes to give vague generalizations for her signature dishes like "boil it until it looks right" and "I just eyeball it."  I was very shocked when I asked for her recipe that she gave actual measurements.  Cherry pie is kind of like the weather in Iowa--unpredictable.  Sometimes it's runny, sometimes it's not.  Sometimes it's sour, sometimes it's sweet.  A fun fact about cherry pie: it always gets eaten.  Also another fun fact:  I like to talk about facts that aren't facts, just things that I make up.

Libby helped me cut out the letters for our pie.  Daphne had to sit this one out, because flour.  I added the letters to my pie to fool the consumers into thinking it was extraordinary. It worked.  I have been eyeing these cute little cookie cutters so that I can write corny phrases like Hello Sweetie Pie on my next pie just so my husband rolls his eyes at me.  These plates would also make super-cute dessert plates! I love all of the phrases.  

Tate got me two cherry trees for Mother's Day this year.  He and Libby planted them together while I played a super fun game of GET OUT OF THE ROAD with Daphne.  I can't wait until we have our own harvest, but for now I will continue to mooch off my mom.  Happy baking!  Stay away from the locusts.

Father's Day Gift Ideas

We love a good holiday around these parts, mostly because we love getting together with our families. So, let's talk about Father's Day!  Our families live about an hour apart, so it is nice that we usually get to both sides during any holiday.  I always struggle with gifts to give, and people who know me know that I rely heavily on Amazon Prime since I am a last minute shopper person in general.  But I am turning over a new leaf tonight and I have put together a list of gift ideas.  I hope this helps in your search for those tough-to-buy for dad's.  My father insists on cash only.  But, make sure you give enough cash...otherwise it will be deemed a pittance (true story of my blunt father).

1. Family Man/ 2. YETI Coozie/ 3. Manliest Pocket Knife Ever/

4. Whiskey Glasses/ 5. Bags Set/ 6. Reciprocating Saw

Make sure to include a bottle of whiskey with option #4 so that you work your way up to favorite child/wife/daughter-in-law status.  Also, if you aren't familiar with tools, option #6 basically cuts shit really fast.  My husband has used ours to trim tree branches and cut logs for firewood.  Happy shopping everyone!

Welcome!

Hello!  My name is Chelsea.  I am a wife to Tate and mother to two sweet, young souls - Libby (age 3) and Daphne (age 1).  I am starting this blog to use as a creative space and share our life journey as I tackle motherhood, house projects, and all that falls in between.  I've always had passions for photography, writing, cooking, and more recently--home renovation and DIY projects. :)   This blog will let me share all of those passions with you all and I am so excited.  Follow us along on Instagram @ckchristensen87. Thanks for stopping by!